Christine and Jason Kirk's Fabulous Find: Affordableresort with a sense of place

"Staying at GaiaHotel and Reserve gave usa real sense of Costa Ricanculture," says Christine."At other resorts you're ina bubble. There, we wereable to explore a nearby town as well as takea tour of a national park where we saw lotsof wildlife." Bonus: Many perks are includedin the room rate. "We ate breakfast every dayon our rooftop deck, and it was so relaxing,"she says. "The rates were reasonable, too!"

"The Palmwood is a reallyspecial place," Nina says of this tworoom(yes, two) boutique inn on Kauai'snortheastern coast. The couple's roomhad a warm, homey feel, plus a flat-screenTV and a Jacuzzi tub. Each morning, theowner, Eddi Henry, makes breakfast forher guests, using fresh, local ingredients."Eddi was truly a gem and made ourstay especially memorable," says Nina.

"It wasthe perfect place to start offour honeymoon," Landi saysof La Limonaia, a bed-and-breakfast innjust outside of Florence, in the small villageof Bagno a Ripoli. The owner, GiulioBenuzzi, is a former restaurateur and useshis know-how to give his guests a real"foodie" experience. "Every morning, wehad made-to-order omelettes with freshcheese and herbs," says Landi. "And we tookan amazing pasta-making class." Guestscan also spend a day truffle-hunting in thenearby woods, or sample regional cheesesand spices at a tasting.

"It was the vacation of a lifetime!"says Diana Rohini of her and Vikramaditya's honeymoon aboard theAntarctic Dream. Because the ship is smaller than others that ply thearea, it is able to dock more often, and closer to shore. "One of the firstlandings was to see a penguin colony," she says. "There were so manypenguins! It was like westepped out of our livesand into a wildlife documentary."The ship'screw are also experts on theregion, and offer lecturesonboard. "It was less 'cruiseshipcrew,' " she says. "Youcould tell they really caredabout the area."

"Wewanted to stay at a small resort awayfrom the touristy spots," says Edward,"but also wanted exceptional food andaccommodations." They found it all atQamea Resort & Spa, in Fiji. "The foodwas fresh and creative, and the divingwas the best I've ever seen," he says.The couple spent a few lazy afternoonson "Honeymoon Beach," a secluded areaaccessible only by boat. "The staff packedus a lunch with champagne—so relaxing,"says Edward.